Our #AwakenSummer Experience at Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park

I was provided two (2) WDW complimentary tickets to facilitate this blog post, but all thoughts are mine.

As nightfall began, we made our way to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park for all that it has to offer. We arrived about 5:00 PM, so there was still some daylight available. Thankfully, I got Fast Passes for Expedition Everest and Kilimanjaro Safaris about 6:15 & 7:15 PM. I wanted to experience them later in the evening but as luck would have it, all of the Fast Passes were gone for that time frame. Never fear, The Cummings will always find a way to have a great time when we visit The Walt Disney World Resort.

When we arrived, we made a B-line for Dinosaur. I can’t for the life of me understand why we must ride this specific ride so many times in a row. Surely, my family knows something is up when they see the Photo Pass photos and I am wearing sunglasses. (Shhh… I actually keep my eyes closed, but don’t tell them). Thankfully, the wait for Dinosaur is always minimal when we arrive so I guess that makes it better.

After getting off the ride, we headed to a great location where we “people watched” for a few minutes. This is something I enjoy each visit. Then as the sun is starting to set, we tapped our MagicBands and redeemed out FastPass+ for Expedition Everest. It was interesting to experience this attraction later in the evening. Still an exhilarating experience, and to top it off, it was not as hot as it usually is (Score!!)

Then as the sun set a bit further, Kilmanjaro Safaris was next and I was so happy that it wasn’t totally in the dark because we saw many more animals on this safari than we normally do and we were excited about that.

Now it was time to make our way to the Jungle Book:Alive with Magic. Simple words just won’t do, you have to see it to experience the wonderful colors, the music and the story the performers told. This is a limited run, so if you are going to see it, see it soon. As we sat there, the projection of images on the water, just added pure joy. The performance was a the perfect accompaniment to the movie itself and you felt like you were featured in a small part of the movie. I was hoping that the Rivers of Light Nighttime Experience would be ready, but it is coming soon. After experiencing the Jungle Book : Alive with Magic, we WILL be back.

Before I move on, I just had to share a quick clip from the Jungle Book: Alive With Magic when they performed The Bear Necessities. Yes, I knew all the words, but I did not want to clutter the footage with my wonderful singing.

At the end of the night, we loved the Nighttime Awakening of the Tree of Life, and did not want to leave. My family and I were in awe of all the images that were projected. (Side Note: I wanted to show a clip, but my footage was not clear, but no worries, I will get the perfect footage next time). Too bad the tree is too big to fit in our luggage, we would have taken it home with us. It was the perfect goodnight kiss.

At the end of the day, it is all about our family and our enjoyment. We choose to make Walt Disney World a part of our family (a long time ago) and visit as often as we can (even if it is just for a day). The smiles at the end of the day is all that matters and THESE smiles give me life.